September 26, 2008
It’s been over a week since my arrival and I’m finding that I’m settling into life here. Things that once seemed so shocking are starting to seem quite normal but I’ve run into a few things this week that stand out as completely not okay. There was the young man in the market yesterday walking on his hands using flip flops to protect his palms, dragging his body behind him through the filth and garbage. Then there was a farmer I met who walks 7 miles each morning to get to his small farm to work and then walks home again at night. How about the 8th grade classroom full of young people ranging in ages of 17-22 years old, trying to finish their education that was put on hold by a 15 year war? The thing that so amazes me is that the people here are not daunted by the “impossible” situations they find themselves in. They continue to wake up each day and do what they can to pursue their dreams and make their lives better.
I spent my day Thursday going out in the bush to visit a village that had donated some land to Pastor Steven’s church. Pastor Steven is one of four pastors who have planted new churches in the
So, on Thursday morning, I headed out with Pastor Steven to visit the village and see the 2 acres. We took along a young farmer who had recently graduated from a agriculture training school to see what he thought of the land.
The “road” into the village was quite the challenge to navigate and I was truly scared as I drove through deep ruts and ponds of rainwater that were up to the doors of the truck. I had visions of having to call Saah and tell him I was stuck out in the middle of nowhere with his truck! We finally arrived in the village that had an array of lean to huts, mud brick houses and one cement block home that belonged to the chief of the village. We spent some time on the porch talking to the chief, telling him we had come to see the land, and then we headed out to see it. About 4-5 other people followed us and when I look back I was surprised to see that even the old chief was making the trek. The donated land was part of about 20 acres that was covered with low brush that hadn’t been cleared. The young men of the village want to farm but have little knowledge of how to go about it and their only tools are machetes and hoes. The agriculture student promised them that he would come back and give them a farming seminar, sharing what he had learned.
As I stood out there in that beautiful lush green place, so full of promised abundance, I found myself asking the Lord what I was doing there. Was this just a random trek or was the Lord up to something? It didn’t take much imagination to envision a productive farming operation in this place. I still don’t know if that’s the plan or if it’s something else. I ‘m believing that as these people commit their lives to the Lord, blessings will follow. We will have to wait and see if those blessings come in the form of a thriving farming community or something else, but I do believe they WILL come. While we all stood there, Pastor said a prayer and asked the Lord to bless whatever plans He had for this land, this village and his church. It was an amazing experience and as we walked back to the village I found myself once again realizing how amazing God’s plans can look compared to our own limited, small ones. It’s only as we let go of our own plans and dreams that we begin to see what he’s got in store for us. As we do, I’m pretty sure we won’t be disappointed. I don’t know what He’s doing out in that village but I’m convinced it’s going to be good!
Had some awesome pictures but couldn't get them to post.
Walking in his Goodness,
Jill
